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Worldly Things QUOTES

Worldly Things QUOTES

1 " In America there’s one winning story—no adaptations. The
Story imagines a noble, grand progress where we’re all united.
Like truths are as self-evident as the Declaration states.
Or like they would be if not for detractors like me, the ranks of
Vagabonds existing to point out what’s rotten in America,
Insisting her gains come at a cost, reminding her who pays, and
Negating wild notions of exceptionalism—adding ugly facts to
God’s-favorite-nation mythology. "

― , Worldly Things

2 " Fog borne of fatigue, fog of early morning,
of restless middle-years sleeplessness, fog of cat
hair in my eye, of dog, dogs, fog of darkness, fog

of dreary days under a pseudo-autocracy, funk
fog of high crimes and misdemeanors, fog of my daily
compulsion toward work I do not want to do. "

― , Worldly Things

3 " America is loving me to death, loving me to death slowly, and I
Mainly try not to be disappeared here, knowing she won’t pledge
Even tolerance in return. Dear God, I can’t offer allegiance. "

― , Worldly Things

4 " My grandfather's
name was Arthur, and he talked all the time about

his arthritis but pronounced it autha-itis, so for months
I thought it was a condition unique to him, that he

had his own special burden, just like my brother
and me. "

― , Worldly Things

5 " Come to my funeral dressed as you
would for an autumn walk in the woods.

Arrive on your schedule; I give you permission
to be late, even without good cause.

If my day arrives when you had other plans, please
proceed with them instead.

Celebrate me there--keep dancing. "

― , Worldly Things

6 " Here's the deal: structural fatigue
eventually causes breakdowns. I am 50
and chaos. My whole body groans. "

― , Worldly Things

7 " Love is history plus desire. Love is dominion.
It is supposed to attack you. When you send it out,
it stings you back like a slap of cold air. "

― , Worldly Things

8 " I woke to the news you were dead.
The what arrived before daylight;

the how was agony unfolding as I
dreaded my way to dusk. Unfolding

against my want not to know
(but I already knew, have known

since I could know): officers, arrest,

Black, man, twenty, video, knee,

sir, back, dollar, 8, counterfeit,
hands, sorry, 46, mama, please,

breathe, please! Were you tired
George? I feel tired sometimes.

America on my neck--my
lungs compressed so much

they can't expand/contract-- "

― , Worldly Things

9 " just

then a little black ant struggles by alone, alone. And
in that moment, I want us to give ourselves over

to industry, carry the weight of the day together, lighten
it. I want to be a part of a colony where I feel easy

walking around. Cool as the goddamn breeze. Where
I can breathe, build structures sturdier and grander

than this—but the woman crosses to the other side
of the street, and I do what I usually do: retreat into

myself as far as I can, then send out whatever’s left. "

― , Worldly Things

10 " After You Left

the weight of your absence
became a black hole revolving
around my memory of you--itself
a black hole. Wavelets wrinkled
the sheer sheet of space and time.
Father, the loss of you is a planet
orbiting what might have been.
I cannot say if the emptiness is
a grand celestial body or a vacuum
so complete nothing can escape. I know
these forces have mass and motion
that bends, calls in, ripples fabric--
distorts the pace of light
for a billion years. "

― , Worldly Things

11 " My love, I make this to tell you--

you made me right: everything is amplified. Joy doubles,
also pain. The endless work of the river, the haze around it. "

― , Worldly Things